Tell statewide Chancellor Brice Harris and the California Community College Board of Governors that we demand the immediate return of the City College of San Francisco democratically elected Board of Trustees! No STWEP!

Brice Harris announced on February 23rd that the board will not be given back their powers until July. He appointed a new STWEP (Guy Lease) to replace Robert Agrella who unexpectedly announced his retirement. Harris did this despite his own testimony during the trial last fall on the original appointment where he said that had he known then what he knows now, he “would not have asked the Board of Governors to take the extraordinary step of setting aside the locally elected Board of Trustees and elevate the special trustee to one with extraordinary powers.”

State Chancellor Brice Harris and his Board of Governors appointed a Special Trustee with Extraordinary Powers (STWEP) and removed CCSF’s elected board based on the ACCJC decision to terminate CCSF’s accreditation.

The Superior Court of California has since ruled that this termination decision was based on illegal processes.

Now that STWEP I has unexpectedly retired, it would be a perfect time to re-empower our democratically elected BOT. However, Brice Harris, not content with merely two years worth of treating the San Francisco voters to taxation without representation will announce STWEP II who will once again have complete control over City College.

The full empowerment of the democratically elected Board of Trustees is crucial for the well-being and future of the school and its tens of thousands of students.

COME OUT TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD!WE WANT DEMOCRACY!NO STWEP II!

Brief CCSF update: On the first day of classes in the new Spring Semester Civic Center Campus was closed and students were turned away. They were told their classes would be late-start and that they should show up at the Gough Street facility. On Thursday, Chancellor Tyler announced that Gough Street facility will be closed. Once again students will show up for their “first day” of class and be turned away.

Please come to help organize against what is happening at CCSF and to higher public education across the nation. Resist downsizing our college and fundamentally changing our purpose and mission. Resist privatization of public education.

Protest 4PM Monday!

Again this Monday, the Performing Arts Education Club will perform a protest at 4PM at Conlan Hall !

The $88 million Performing Arts Education Center (PAEC) was twice voter approved but former Special Trustee Dr. Robert F. Agrella unilaterally cancelled the project on September 17, 2013.

The City Attorney’s press release is clearest about what happens next.http://www.sfcityattorney.org/index.aspx?page=619Karnow’s proposed injunction would require a full, fair reconsideration of City College by the Novato, Calif.-based accrediting panel, assuring due process rights that Karnow found accreditors denied the college in 2013. Karnow’s injunction would require accreditors to rectify multiple deficiencies in their 2013 evaluation by engaging in a thorough reconsideration process, while prohibiting ACCJC from taking any action to finalize a termination decision until the process is complete. Karnow directed City Attorney Dennis Herrera’s office to take the lead in drafting a detailed injunction that reflects the terms outlined by Karnow. ACCJC will be entitled to make objections to the injunction, but Karnow himself would make all final decisions on the court order. The contemplated injunction would allow City College to opt into a reconsideration process issued by the court, or opt out of the process by continuing with the “restoration process” accreditors created and approved for City College for yesterday.

Here are links to articles. Please be aware that some of the media coverage either reflects a poor understanding of judicial process, or hastiness in grasping all the implications.

We have yet to see any evidence that holding classes at CCSF Civic Center Campus poses any life safety issues. Yet, three days before classes were set to begin CCSF Chancellor Tyler abruptly informed faculty that their campus was not seismically sound and they could not teach their classes on Monday, the first day of the spring semester.

The sudden closure of Civic Center campus probably would not have happened if we had an empowered Board of Trustees and a democratic, open, decision-making process here at CCSF.

Please join AFT 2121 for a rally and press conference outside of the Civic Center campus and then a march to the steps of City Hall for an English as a second language citizenship lesson.